383 Madison Avenue

383 Madison Avenue
383 Madison Avenue in April 2021
Alternative names	Bear Stearns Building
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Commercial/Office
Location	Manhattan, New York, US
Coordinates	40°45′20″N 73°58′37″W / 40.75556°N 73.97694°W / 40.75556; -73.97694
Construction started	1999
Completed	2001
Opening	2002
Owner	JPMorgan Chase
Height
Roof	755 ft (230 m)
Technical details
Floor count	47
Floor area	1,200,000 sq ft (110,000 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	David Childs (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill)
Structural engineer	LeMessurier Consultants WSP Cantor Seinuk
Main contractor	Turner Construction Company

383 Madison Avenue, formerly known as the Bear Stearns Building, is a 755 ft (230 m), 47-story skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Built in 2002 for financial services firm Bear Stearns, it was designed by architect David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). It housed Bear Stearns's world headquarters until 2008, when Bear collapsed and was sold to JPMorgan Chase. Since then, JPMorgan's investment banking division has occupied the building.

383 Madison Avenue occupies an entire city block bounded by Madison Avenue, 47th Street, Vanderbilt Avenue and 46th Street. The eastern two-thirds of the building is erected over two stories of tracks leading to the nearby Grand Central Terminal. Above the rectangular base, there are several setbacks tapering to an octagonal tower. The facade is made of granite with glass panels, and the tower is topped by a 70 ft (21 m) glass crown. To accommodate the railroad tracks under the site, the foundation and superstructure contain large sloped girders and trusses, and the elevators are placed on the west side of the building. The ground story also contains public spaces and an entrance to Grand Central Terminal. Above are seven trading floors, as well as office stories. The building has a usable floor area of 935,300 sq ft (86,890 m²); including mechanical spaces, its total floor area is 1.2×10^⁶ sq ft (110,000 m²).

G. Ware Travelstead, First Boston, and the al-Babtain family acquired the site in 1982 and tried to develop a building with more than 70 stories. That plan stalled after Travelstead could not acquire the required air rights from Grand Central Terminal. HRO International then proposed redeveloping the site, but al-Babtain acquired full ownership in 1995 before HRO could obtain the lot. Bear Stearns agreed to develop the site in 1997 after several potential tenants declined to lease space there. Work started in 1999 and was completed in early 2002. When demolition of JPMorgan Chase's world headquarters at 270 Park Avenue commenced in 2019, the bank's headquarters was temporarily relocated to 383 Madison Avenue, pending the completion of the JPMorgan Chase Tower on the Park Avenue site.